FAIRFIELD — Two years ago, it was rain that postponed the weekend championship. Last year, it was air quality from the North Bay Fires that was troubling for players and spectators.

This fall, everything that Mother Nature has had to dish off so far has been perfect for the $100,000 NorthBay Healthcare Men’s Pro Tennis Championship tournament at Solano Community College.

That has been a relief for tournament director Phil Cello.

Maybe the only downside for Cello is seeing some of the top-ranked players get eliminated early in the 32-man singles main draw and 16-team doubles field.

“We’ve lost a number of our top seeds,” Cello said. “Ivo Karlovic lost last night, Thanasi Kokkinakis is out and Donald Young, another very recognizable name, lost yesterday. But at the same time, the level this year is extremely high. The level is going up and up.”

U.S. player JC Aragone lost in two sets to Casper Ruud of Norway. (Matt Miller-Contributed photo)

Kokkinakis was ranked No. 196 and best known for a win early this year at the ATP Miami Open against top-ranked Roger Federer.

If some of the names sound familiar, it’s no coincidence. The Challenger Tour is sort of a minor league to the World Championship tours as players try to re-fine their game or improve their world ranking.

One of those players was Norway’s Casper Ruud, who defeated American JC Aragone 6-1, 7-6(4) of the U.S. on Wednesday.

Ruud, seeded No. 6, made quick work of Aragone in the first set before getting locked into a tiebreaker in the second. He pulled out the final set to move into the third round.

“I had my game plan from the beginning and I really started well,” Ruud said. “He may have not been on the top of his game at first but then there was great level from both players. I didn’t play bad but he raised his level. … I just tried to stay strong and it was a tough battle.”

Ruud has reached two Challenger finals already this year and is hoping for a third in Fairfield. He said he’s familiar with the United States after coming to Florida as a kid since his grandfather owned a house in Florida.

“I haven’t been to California that much but they have PF Chang’s and Cheesecake Factory so I’m enjoying that a lot,” Ruud said, smiling.

Cello mentioned that since they have raised from junior youth tournaments as well as the pro tournament coming to Fairfield, Solano College has been able to add men’s and women’s tennis programs.

“Now that we’re pretty well established with that, we’re expanding now to have tennis training and academic mentoring for underserved kids in Solano County,” he said. “This tournament is part of that effort. This tournament is all volunteers. It’s not a money-making operation, which allows us a better chance at raising money. We rely on NorthBay Healthcare and Western Health Advantage and just the generosity of the people that we know but’s it’s not easy.”

Cello hopes the tournament will keep coming back to Solano College every fall.

“We just have to continue to do what we do and keep getting better at it,” Cello said. “The biggest challenge is always raising money but our fundraising base is increasing so I don’t see it going anywhere.”

More close matches on Wednesday

Another teen had a strong debut on Wednesday. Jeffrey John Wolf of the U.S. rallied to beat fellow American Evan King 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the last of the first-round singles matches, a holdover from Tuesday that was called by darkness. The 19-year-old is currently ranked at No. 499 is the youngest professional right now in the top-500.

Sebastian Fanselow of Germany earned a strong 6-4, 6-1 win over Lucas Miedler of Austria. Fanselow has won every day in Fairfield since Saturday. He is currently ranked 423rd in the world and could improve that with a strong finish in the NorthBay tournament.

In doubles, Harri Heliovaara of Finland teamed up with Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland for a 3-6, 6-2, 10-7 win over Ruan Roelofse of South Africa and John-Patrick Smith of Australia. Heliovaara is ranked 193rd in doubles and Laaksonen is 160th. Heliovaara also has a 2007 Australian Open Boys Doubles Title to his credit.

Texas twins Hunter and Yates Johnson topped Swedes Andre Goransson Andreas 6-4, 2-6, 10-6. The New Braunfels resides are 24 years old and are coached by their dad, Jeff Johnson. They are both ranked 261st in the world.

The ATP Challenger Series and USTA Pro Circuit event continues through Sunday. Evening tickets Thursday and Friday are $5 with matches beginning around 6:30 p.m. Day sessions are free for spectators those days. Tickets are required all day Saturday and Sunday for $15 and feature semifinal and final competition.